We hope to have articles and reviews coming in soon.

Enjoy!

[Show as slideshow]

Lone Star Studios / 107 Lone Star Blvd.  Dec 10, 2011 – 6p-10p (one night only).

No Class: Three Emerging Artists, Post Academia – This show features the art of James Woodard, Nicolas Morales Erick Salazar.  For bio and show info, click here.

Inspire Art / 200 Queen Anne Court.  Dec 8, 2011 – 6p-8p (one night only).

Inspire Holiday Market – Form the event page: “You are invited to Inspire’s Holiday Market Reception Featuring Arts & Crafts Created by Local Artists”  Great gift ideas here for the art lover in your life.  Also an awesome way to show our support for the local arts community.

Radius Center / 106 Auditorium Circle.  Dec 9, 2011 – 5p-930p.

Gabriel Diego Delgado Exhibition – Curated by Joan Grona of Joan Grona Gallery.  Delgado’s work is simply amazing.  Keeping a primarily socio-political focus, his work involves ink illustrations, stencils, graffiti and combinations thereof.  For more info see the Radius Canter site, or the artists website.

High Wire Art Gallery / 326 W. Josephine.  Dec 9, 2011 – 6p-9p.

Kathrine DaLuz Maple exhibit.  9 new pieces of select work from this artist and several other artists.  This event also has pieces which are priced for the gift giving art lovers.  See the High Wire Arts site here.

Anarte Gallery / 7959 Broadway.  Dec 14, 2011 – 6p-9p.

Steven DaLuz “ Watchers” Art Exhibit.  Steven’s amazing encaustics work returns to figurative works in this series.  Some of the proceeds of this event will go to Arts SA.  Music by Harpist Stephanie Nash.  For info on this and other exhibits see the Anarte site.

My Examiner.com feed  -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World   -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine   -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr  -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook  -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+  -  My profile.

LinkedIn  -  Professional profile and networking.

Blue Star Arts Complex – First Friday

Holiday music courtesy of Boneshakers Bicycle Pub (featuring The Circle School & Blessed Sacrament Elementary, The Weetles).

Phillip King Exhibit “Four Decades with Colour” Dec 1- Feb 12, Main Gallery.  Sculptural and print work from the artist dated from the 60’s to today.  King has been a teacher throughout most of his life, including  posts at the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy Schools.  He has also been a trustee of the Tate Gallery.  His work spans many different ‘styles’ of sculpture and serves as a brilliant dialogue about sculpture and art in general.

Philip John Evett Exhibit “Untitled” Dec 1-Feb 12, Middle Gallery and Gallery 4.  Also an educator for much of his career, Evett currently teaches at Trinity University.  Sensual and figurative sculpture.  Beautiful work, typically carved wood or cast bronze.  Click the link above for a great gallery of his work.

Harold Wood Exhibit “Levelland [Points of Scale]” Dec 1-Feb 12, Project Space.  Hard to give a short description of Harold Wood, or his studio/workshop/showroom/art gallery/complex ‘Harold J. Wood and Company LP’.  In essence they create environments.  Form furniture and paintings to some involvement in the complex computer driven equipment as well as old world traditional means of production.  They create an environment, without seeming to be ‘interior decorators’.  Instead there is nothing but art.  Go to the site and read the bio, it is amazing all by itself.

Also coming up soon at the Blue Star Arts Space: Blue Starry Night Holiday Sale.

The revised info for the event is now December 8^th, 2pm to 7pm.  There will be awesome work for sale here, fine art, decorative art, food and drink.

David Shelton Gallery

Also along the Friday artwalk trail will be Jane Lawrence at the David Shelton Gallery.  The samples available online of Lawrence’s work do this artist’s work no justice.  The illustrations I have seen are brilliant.  The architectural, figurative, formal and surrealistic abstractions involving the human form, machinery, insects and more are full of life.   Great gallery showing great work.

Luminaria 2012 – Update

The application to be involved is now available online.  Last year was amazing (see some images on Voices of Art Magazine) and as always, San Antonio will do it bigger and better this year.  There have been same changes, so go to the site and take a look if interested.

And because the internets need to be represented…

There has been some awesome work coming out of Flash Fiction coming out of the San Antonio Current.  The Flash Fiction section is run by Lyle Rosdahl who also is involved in the Postcard Fiction Collaborative, which is also something you should check out.

Check back frequently for updates and event info, reviews, interviews and other great San Antonio Art Events!

My Examiner.com feed  -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World   -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine   -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr  -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook  -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+  -  My profile.

LinkedIn  -  Professional profile and networking.

In 1996, I  ‘grew out’ of my beautiful studio at my home.  I found a space in the Lubbock Depot district.  As the interest grew in the depot area so did the rent prices.  At this time, this area was sparsely populated with the exception of a few bars and a theater. Within two and a half years, the value of my building increased five fold. My Landlord offered another building in the area, so that my previous studio could become a bar. I worked in that studio for five years, where I began to give student spaces for installation and exhibition. This space was conducive to my own performance work as well as sculpture and painting. At the end of the five years, when the depot district was booming, my rent increased by $1000 and this building became another bar.

waterSpace

I went to the streets looking for a new space to work.  A student suggested that I check out Slaton, Texas, a small town about 15 miles south east of Lubbock.  In Slaton I found a building built in 1943 as a furniture store. The building is quite large with entrances that face on both sides of the corner. It is a reverse L with an open pie shaped area at the corner.  In the 40’s, this corner held a gas station. The gas station has long gone and the open area now serves as a park. This building serviced many different needs over the years, and then came the artist. The large building had been separated into two rental spaces, so in 2003 I rented the south side of the building.  After much cleaning it was seen as a most wonderful working space.  Then in 2005 I was fortunate enough to buy the entire building.    After I renovated the north side of the building as my living space, all was beginning to look very good. The renovation was a simple process of removing the cosmetic additions in order to reveal the beauty of the structure. In my studio space I created a gallery in the front.  The gallery consisted of two long walls facing six large windows. The walls were sheet-rocked to accommodate 2 dimensional artworks while the window area’s raised platforms were suited to 3d artwork. This space served two purposes.  One, folks couldn’t see me working in the studio areas behind and secondly, I could offer students and professional artists an opportunity to exhibit their work.  The addition of expensive track lighting enlarged the exhibition possibilities. This became known as waterSpace south.

WaterSpace facade

Then in 2007 another beautiful building became available so I bought it…waterSpace north was born.  This turn of the century two-story building was in need of much repair. The building was in dire circumstances, having been neglected and abused for many years. It was overrun with bugs, vermin, dirt and refuse.  In time, and with excellent hired help, it has become a living space, studio and gallery.  In addition to basic cleaning, I added an ADA bathroom and a shower as well as a kitchen area and a second upstairs bathroom. This space has housed numerous arts activities including performance art nights, student and professional exhibits, fundraisers for the TTU School of Art and two practicing resident artists. Currently, a third building is being purchased to continue my goal of enabling artists to have opportunities to exhibit their work.  Both student and profession artists have taken advantage of these spaces.  Occasionally we have combined our efforts with the city folks to create festivals (Art on the Slaton Square) where people are able to enjoy local and regional artworks as well as student and academic exhibitions.

WaterSpace facade with Gentry Germany, photo assistant.

These efforts are not entirely self-centered, but rather they are about many artists who contribute to the artistic activities in Slaton. My buildings have been the site for experimental and exciting presentations from my academic colleagues, BFA and MFA students, and local artists. The fact that the building is in Slaton, provides the townspeople the unique experience of seeing a wide variety of artworks right on their hometown main street. The buildings operate as open laboratories, rather than pristine museums. Mine is one of many examples of artists infiltrating communities, sharing ideas and enhancing the quality of life.

Sara Waters is a professor of art at Texas Tech University with a background of painting/drawing and clay. She teaches Sculpture and Drawing.

Robin D Germany, Associate Professor teaching Photography at Texas Tech University assisted in the writing of the article.

Performance/Installation, Brownsville.  Sponsored by Galleria 409.

by David Freeman

Susan Harbage Page recently presented a performance/installation work at the Brownsville River directly beneath the Mexico -U.S.  Gateway International Border Bridge. Galleria 409 was the patron and the community organizer for this event. The piece was a socio-political commentary protesting the border wall along the Texas Mexico border. Her concept was to also bring notice to the idea of a renovation of a historical Brownsville site – the implementation of the historical riverbank ‘board walk’ of yesteryear. The Border Patrol now are the only ones allowed accesses to the riverbank but Harbage Page wants to see a river walk utilized as recreational areas for the community much like that of San Antonio. The local community assistants separated into two groups and set out to manage and form the piece from both the Mexican and U.S. riverbanks. The workers filled hundreds of children’s inflatable inner tubes, strung them together and systematically fed them to the swimmer in the river, Harbage Page then symbolically swam out and united the tubes in the middle and completed the unification of the peoples border communities.

Harbage  Page also  designed and fabricated a Welcome Station out of debris and found objects from the riverbank, she setup a table with trophies and medals celebrating the crossing of the river by anyone coming over by water means. The trophies were store bought swimming and running models and she also had a hand written sign on cardboard that welcomed the participants.

There was a grand juxtaposition of extremes witnessed in the floating river piece once it was connected to both countries riverbanks. Often when you walk across the bridge you see people swimming across in tubes or just the head of person stealthily swimming with a raised arm full of his only belongings or a couple and their baby paddling rapidly trying to out run an approaching Border Patrol vehicle, this dramatic and sometimes tragic scenario played off a string of colorful kids pool inflatables is quite remarkable and the work spotlights a difference of lifestyles, freedoms and opportunities.

The foot soldiers of the Border Patrol were surprising accommodating only warning Harbage Page to never set foot on the opposite shore or she would be arrested, they even summoned their superior officer to witness the event but no one interfered with the performance.

Galleria 409 has presented several events either on the border wall or in direct contact with the wall and every time the men on patrol have been professional and courteous. Makes one think that even they see the wall as a waste of taxpayer’s monies. Harbage Pages art activism is a well received and noticed means of information and enlightenment. The work is directed toward a better understanding and hopefully a greater cooperation between two countries under siege but the ancestral commonality that is hard wired into the border communities is something that will take a great deal of diplomacy tolerance and consideration to rise above. We may all be in need of an inner tube  soon.

VOA PAM 2011 Cover

Coming in the next few days will be scores of articles from the issue, galleries and any other extras we can pass on to our readers!

The paper edition of the PAM Edition will soon be available in any and all respectable art galleries and venues in central and south Texas, as well as a few supportive businesses!  Come back soon for a complete list of available locations!

Also, you will soon be able to download a complete copy of the magazine and some of our backlist from this site.

See you soon!

INTERVIEW WITH JASON JAY STEVENS AND LESLIE RAYMOND
by Gene Elder

Death of Contemporary Art Mont Parade on the River

CAM-Parade

Gene: Hello and welcome to the Chartreuse Couch. I understand you two have been creating problems on the River Walk, I mean parading art on the river. That is all it takes to be invited to the Couch.

Jason: Thanks for having us, Gene. I’ve never sat on a couch so chartreuse! Seat be sate!

Gene: Oh I bet you say that to all the couches. Well, so what brought this parade on?

Jason: After several years of debate, the San Antonio arts community had concluded that for Contemporary Art Month to graduate to “the next level”–that is, grow, develop, raise the City’s profile in the greater art world–it would behoove us to move the celebration to the more climatalogically amenable month of March. We’ve sweltered through 23 Julys, and had a fabulous time doing it, but, frankly, nobody north of  New Branfels is interested in studio visits in July. But in March, people from the snow belt are dying for a good reason to leave the grey skies for sunny San Antonio. Our party will get bigger, better, greater!

Gene: Well, that definitely sounds like that good ol’ “Come Visit San Antonio” propaganda that they keep trying to teach us. But it is true, everyone did agree that we had worn out our welcome in July.

Jason: Of course, the flip side of that is that we need to let go of July–and it ain’t easy. There’s something sadistically romantic about having all these events at the peak of heat season. Also, CAM’s roots run deep and strong in this community, and change doesn’t come easy. The “Death of CAM” Parade was created to address that. It was a “letting go” ceremony. A symbolic “Death.”

Gene:Well, I do approve of all these antics, but after being in the parade I was not sure about the death aspect. It would seem that now you need to have a birth March Parade to give the life back to Contemporary Art Month in March.

Leslie: We launched the parade at sundown not only because the day begins to cool off at that time, but also because of the obvious metaphorical association with death—the sun is going down. And we do also know that it is going to come up again in the morning. Images underscore the primal language of ritual. I shouldn’t have to spell out the richness of the symbol of the water that SAMA offered us during our march—this is the language that we all understand on a subconscious level, at the very least.

Gene: It is nice that you gave the parade that much thought. Well, March 2 is Texas Independence. That is what I liked about the move. July 4th to March 2nd is a good move.

Leslie: Ritual is something we often forget about, but can be essential to making sense of our place in the world. The acting out of grief through the ritual of our funeral parade represents a way to honor our moving on to another phase of our life as an artists’ community. … The move to March for CAM represents, to a degree, the growing up of the San Antonio art community. I wasn’t here when CAM started, but I understand that it was in reaction to the cancellation of an exhibition which showcased a group of local artists at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Now 23 years later, I am seeing a different kind of relationship between artists and institutions here. Even in the short period of time I’ve been here (4 years) some big things have happened. For example, new curators David Rubin (SAMA), Rene Barilleaux (the McNay), and Scott Sherer (UTSA) who relate to the community.

Gene: Well, it looks like the queers are taking over. That is definitely a change for San Antonio.

Adios July

Jason: I can’t believe you would out all those folks in one swell foop like that, Gene! It is no longer a dirty little secret that the entire art world is carried on the backs of gay men and non-profits staffed with overworked young ladies!

Gene:So who is outing? They’re out. I have been openly working for gay visibility since 1973 when I plopped out of Trinity with my art degree. And I am proud of it. I consider this progress. New to town are you?

Jason: I was joking, Gene. How new in town, indeeed.

Gene: Well, how about the other artists in the parade. I noticed Hills Synder led, and Jason – you had some strange instrument you were banging on?

Jason: Hills and Leslie took turns leading, and I played the obligatory parade monkey role, bouncing from front to back to front again. I had a big mobile of chimes and cymbals hanging over and in front of me from an armature strapped to my back, like a junkyard carillon, that rung beautifully as we marched. There were times I felt like I was floating in a cloud of bells…hallucinatory and fun. And tiring! With counterweights the whole thing weighed a good forty pounds.  Worth every ounce, though.

Leslie: Sixty people were a part of the parade! Mimi Kato was in town for 2 to Watch, Tish Stringer and Harbeer Shandu from Houston, and Hills Snyder headed up the Drum Corpse.

Jason: We had a great turn out of local artists, and friends of the arts.

Gene: I’m advocating that July become PAM: Political Art

Month. Well, so you both have been here four years. From where? And give us your impressions about San Antonio; not necessarily the arts.

Jason: We lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the years leading up to our move here, and we both actually grew up around the bordertown of Detroit. And I can say, in so many ways–not just geographically–San Antonio is the other side of the country.

Gene:Well, in what way?

Leslie: We get super-summer here. I also notice, generally, more traditional gender dynamics, and less investment in digital literacy and new technologies.

Jason: The contrasts are striking, but if I attempt to articulate them, I’ll lapse too close to stereotyping, and that ain’t my bag.

Gene: Well, we are a better and brighter art community with you both here I can see that. And what do you think we should be doing here to upgrade our art consciousness? What would be some helpful long term goals?

Leslie: I’d like to see San Antonio shift the cultural exchange into high-gear on a national AND international level. We have quite a few artists who are getting out there, as well as people who come here through programs like Art Pace– we need more of this kind of thing.

Gene: Since you have added another layer of art history to the river, here is a little pop quiz. Do you know who Emily Edwards and Rene Maverick Green are? And do you know about The Goose That Lays The Golden Eggs?

Jason: Clueless.  Do tell.

Leslie: The magical goose got it’s throat slit by the greedy and ignorant bastards she was generously supplying with gold.

Gene:They are two women artists that created the puppet show about the goose that lays the golden eggs. They performed this for City Council to save the river from being covered over for a storm sewer. This is how art has been used in San Antonio’s past. You can see the puppets at the Conservation Society and you should make a point to see them and to read about this puppet show. It is very important. And certainly more important than anything Andy Warhol ever did. And your parade is now one of those golden eggs. This puppet show that saved the river is what started the Conservation Society. You should be teaching this in your class.

Leslie: This is a great story, Gene.  I am always advocating for my students to find ways to positively and directly impact society.  Art can, and should, be for everybody.

Gene:Well I guess our time is up. I always let my guests ask the last question. Go ahead and ask me anything.

Leslie: What did the zero say to the eight?

Gene:OH dear!! I hope this isn’t one of those, “What’s the sound of one hand clapping? questions. I always thought that was so dumb and we all thought something profound was being asked. OK, this is either about siamees twins, pregnancy or a split personality. What?

Leslie: “Nice belt!”  ; )

Gene: HAHAHAHHA!!!!!! That’s good!  Well, thanks for talking about the CAM parade. CAM is dead. Long live PAM.  And thanks for visiting the Chartreuse  Couch. Here sign your names.

Jason

Leslie

Gene Elder is the Archives Director for the HAPPY Foundation, a foundation dedicated to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, etc, etc… and art, and history, and getting this magazine out on time.

by Gene Elder

Interview with Ansen Seale

(originally printed in v17i2)

Gene: Ansen! How nice to have you here today. You have just opened an exhibit at the Land Heritage Institute. This requires some explanation. Describe this to us.

Ansen: My recent project is called the Corn Crib and is located in south Bexar County on a 1200 acre plot of land along the Medina River. It was commissioned by the Land Heritage Institute and FotoSeptiembreUSA. LHI is a living “land museum” and is located where the Applewhite Reservoir was to be dug had it not been for the popular uprising which turned it down in 1991.

Gene: And you put photos in an old rock shed.

Ansen: My only instructions were that the piece had to be about the land and that it had to contain photography. With those wide-open parameters in mind, Penny Boyers, Michael Mehl and I went scouting around looking for a location and a project.

Gene: I came. I saw. It was a long walk to the corn crib.

Ansen: Yes. On this 1200 acres are several human habitation sites that vary in age from 10,000 years old to the mid 1970’s when it ceased operations as a farm. One of the complexes of buildings was constructed in the 1850s using the stacked-stone method of construction. Most of the buildings have fallen to ruin, but the one that  remains was a place where corn was stored in the winter to feed animals (and perhaps humans as well). I knew from the minute I saw it that this was the place. The building measures 12 x 13 feet and has a  corrugated steel roof, probably replacing the original roof in the 1930s.  The ruins of the original stone house can be viewed nearby.

Gene: Unusual site. I expect there won’t be that many people that come to see it.

Ansen: Unusual indeed. And that’s exactly the point. The viewer must travel and experience the land in order to gain the fullest appreciation of the art. This place was perfect for the installation because it provides protection from the weather. Photography is an inherently fragile medium and until recently, it’s place in public art installations has been limited. So I was thrilled when I realized that this small structure would protect the photos, and the photos would protect the building, both by keeping people from touching the walls and, in a larger sense, by giving the building a purpose.

Gene: Is this permanent?

Ansen: Yes, this is a permanent exhibit. The Land Heritage Institute is not fully open to the public yet, but I’ve been taking interested people to see the Corn Crib every other weekend or so.

Gene: Okay, enough about the site. How about the photos.

Ansen: Taking my cue from the surroundings, I wanted to created a chapel-like environment to honor corn, the sustainer of all the inhabitants on this land for 10,000 years. When you enter the Corn Crib, you see nine transparencies glowing like stained glass windows. They show images of various varieties of corn taken with my digital panoramic camera. Some of the panels show more monochromatic varieties of corn; all red or all blue. Others are covered with multi-colored kernels looking like a carpet of jelly beans.

Gene: They are lit from behind, and I didn’t see any electricity.

Ansen: The Corn Crib is way off the electrical power grid, so by necessity I had to make a very green project. To light my photographs, I constructed back-lit LEDs panels and powered them with solar panels. Other than the glowing photos, the interior of the space is dark.

Gene: Well, we need more of this in the inner city as well. Maybe you can think of other places that need to be illuminated.

Ansen: Wow, I just noticed, this couch really IS chartreuse!

Gene: HAHAHA, yes, you artists notice everything. Well, that explains the corn crib. Now you get to ask me a question. I always let the guest ask the last question.

Ansen: Don’t you think it’s true that San Antonio has one of the most vibrant, active and well supported arts communities in the country? I mean, it’s easy to complain about a lot of things in SA, but really, there’s something going on here all the time in the arts. I’ve only lived in SA since 1979, so I don’t have a lot of perspective about what goes on in other places. I do travel a lot, but that’s not the same as being plugged in to a local community. From what visitors have told me, I get the sense that for its size, SA is very special in this regard. What do you think?

Gene: San Antonio is a strange bird and that is why we all like it. I have been here since 1971 and the art scene has certainly gotten more interesting. But we still don’t have major dance companies coming here. I want to see the Joffrey Ballet and other dance companies that Margaret Stanley always brought to town. There may be a lot of stuff to do and a lot of brilliant talent but we don’t have an arts leader like Margaret Stanley. And that is what we really need now. Margaret had national and international respect and knew how to get the wealth in San Antonio behind her fundraisers and projects, and she could still sit around with the artists and be right at home in both worlds. The loss of Margaret’s San Antonio Performing Arts Association ended a very unique time in our art history and education. I need to invite Margaret to the Chartreuse Couch. I’m going to get her on the phone right now.

Gene Elder is the Archives Director for the HAPPY Foundation.

For a full gallery of images from this event, click on the gallery in the sidebar!

also, go check out the various galleries and info on our main site!